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Friday, April 25, 2008

Fun with peak oil

It's always best to make scary or unpleasant things fun. You know, the way we used to go to IHOP or Pancake House to study for finals. Or the way you can blast the radio/iPod while you paint a room. Or the way that the company of friends and music can make pretty much anything fun.

My husband and I joke around a lot about peak oil. Whenever we accidentally buy too much of something, we just shrug and say, oh well, I guess we'll be stocked up for Armaggedon. We also have what we call the Peak Oil Closet where we store all our goodies like the Katadyn water filter and the Global Sun Oven, and the homebrewing kit.

Peak Oil can be a handy defense mechanism. The current child rearing climate is so intricately and irretrievably 'fd up - if I had to think about raising my baby in it I would be highly anxious. Instead I just have to worry about making sure we defend the house against the roving hordes trying to steal our food. But whenever I come up against something anxiety provoking, such as throwing a proper birthday party or the SAT's, I just think, Well that won't be a problem after Peak Oil.

It's solved a lot of envy problems, too. Seeing a new car or trendy people - I just think, well they are going to wish they'd stocked up on wheat berries. I'm not into Schadenfraude, but envy minimization helps keep the eyes on the prize.

Oh - this is fun. Have you ever seen Leaving Las Vegas? That's a real hoot, huh? I like to imitate Nicholas Cage at the liquor store by buying $200 worth of liquor at a time. Can't do better than a big bottle of vodka for bribery purposes. I like to call that Peak Oil Therapy.

And finally, gardening. There's just something satisfying about seeing a whole bunch of plants ready to provide lovely tomatoes and parsley and zuchinni all season long. Satisfying, yummy, and pretty too. Also, you can garden without feeling self-conscious, like you do when you are in line at Target and you think everyone is wondering what you are going to do with 10 boxes of matches.

Well, you may as well have fun with Armaggedon. What's your favorite way to enjoy Peak Oil?

1 comment:

I think about how much more in tune with the earth I will be if I don't have to worry about an 8-5, bills, television, and career expectations. Life will be a lot simpler, though not easier, I know. The focus will change and that brings me comfort despite how scary (=unpredictable) that will be.